To Heaven and Back?

Note to the reader:

While it may seem that I’m writing this as a direct attack on a certain writer, speaker or teacher, I’m not. My intention here is to bring us back to the Bible so that we can have a biblical understanding on the issue you are about to read. My opinion is flawed, but God’s Truth will never fail. Please take this into account as you read.


The afterlife is something that both believers and unbelievers have marveled over for centuries. The great mystery of what exactly Heaven and Hell will be like is something that not everyone is willing to wait to die for it to be solved. Now, though, we have people coming on the TV, writing books and making radio appearances talking about how they were actually taken to Heaven to tell about how wonderful it is, or Hell to tell everyone how terrible it is. Some of these people have died and were brought back by doctors, and others were simply revealed in dreams. So, all our mysteries are solved, right? We no longer have to wonder, do we? As with any issue, we need to look at what the Bible says, or doesn’t say, on this topic.

The first thing to look at is what it doesn’t say. There are several places in the Bible that speak of people being raised from the dead. Some Old Testament references would include 1 Kings 17:17-24, 2 Kings 4:20-37 and 2 Kings 13:21. While there are too many to list fully, New Testament references include Luke 7:11-16, Mark 5:35-43 and one of the most popular being John 11:1-44. All of these passages have something in common. None of them involve someone coming back and speaking of what the afterlife was like. They simply come back. In fact, in the account found in Mark 5:35-43, the first thing the girl raised from the dead indicates is that she’s hungry. It’s almost as if she didn’t fully realize what had happened. Several more passages can be found in the Bible dealing with people being raised from the dead, and all of these passages share the same thread.

So, what does the Bible say? Well, a great place to start would be in 2 Corinthians 12:3-4. Paul is speaking of a time in his life when God actually took him up to Heaven in a dream. The catch is what follows. Paul goes on to say that he heard things no man should ever speak. In the later verses, he even says he will not describe Heaven to the people he was writing to out of fear that he might boast and sound like a fool. Paul was one of, if not the most influential Christian who ever lived, and someone of his level saying that he might boast is eye-opening. Apparently it is rather difficult to speak of these things without it overtaking you, and yet people today are very open about these experiences, giving specific details of what it was like. As for people who are dead and brought back, one has to wonder what actually happens. It could be that they are made so they can’t remember. It could mean they don’t go anywhere, and it’s like a dream. I’ve had a moment in my personal life in which I stopped breathing for at least a couple minutes after falling and hitting my head. My dad found me and had to get me breathing again. I have absolutely no recollection of ever getting close to Heaven. In all honesty, I imagined I went to a fair with my family. It was quite fun, and the hospital bed that I woke up in paled in comparison. Not saying that this is a sure reason to not believe anyone coming forward and stating that they’ve seen the afterlife, but the Scripture pulled should be enough to at least make us wary of these claims.

As always, Christians need to turn to the Bible before they buy into something. I’ve found myself surprised time and time again by things I’ve never even thought to be wrong turning out wrong when compared to Scripture. Seeking God’s guidance through the Word, and always have an answer just as 1 Peter 3:15 says. We may not know something for sure until we get to Heaven, but that doesn’t mean we have nothing to point us in the right direction.